The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-06-25
FOUL MEAT SOLD FOR FOOD
Putrescent Carcasses of Diseased AMI
mails Put on the Market for Sale.
Instances of How the Community Is Being
Sickened by Most Outrageous Practices
More About the Inspection System.

and children became dangerously sick May 7,
from eating pork infected with trichine. 1t is
stated that the pork was in putrescent condi-
tion. The lives Of the afflicted family were
saved, but no. until Mr.. Coy and wife, who live
at No. ia Yandes street. were very near death.
Not far from the southern limits of the stock
yards is a slaughter-house, where, according TO
the statement of a butcher, from three to four
hundred hogs are killed every week. MANY of
these killed at night" he continued, ''and
are hurried into the hands of dealers, who man
age to get them on the market without detec-
tiou."
''Are any of than diseased hogs"
eyes. They me into the yards among good
stock, either crippled or diseased, but nobody
knows what becomes of them"
''Then there is probability Of such meats
reaching the copsumers?o
II know it does Not only hog meat, but that
of beef Not longer ago than Thursday last there
not bit OF good meat in the market. There
some so foul that it impregnated the air,
and much more fly blown. Many butchers
buy this stuff cheap and work it off whenever
they have an opportunity. I know OF one man
who had meat that was in a state of decomposi-
ton"
what is his Manner
81 have it on a piece of paper, but do not in
tend to give it out until the grand jury has had
a chance to investigate the matter. His name
will be given to the jury The meat he had was
not fit for dog to eat"
Another butcher stated that this inferior and
spoiled meat. the most of which is from cattle
damned up" and crippled in transportation, is
sold cheap that sell the best of
steaks roasts on the market. While it may
not be altogether spoiled when taken there, in
ferior as it may be, conveniences to be
found in the market-house for preserving it.
There is no ice and boxes put it in. For
hours the meat is exposed to heat, dirt and flies
The disappearing quarters are hung so as to
conceal the worst stuff from which sales
made to those who not careful in their i'll
spection or do not know good meat from bad
But last Saturday the health boards ms pector
found 300 pounds of the stuff and condemned it.
This lot almost decomposed. Yet many
are the complaints from consumers that bad
meat is being served to them that it is hard to
tell who are the most culpable in thus trying to
sicken the entire community. But the trouble
is not confined to the market Spoiled meats
out of the shops, and where it comes
from one knows.
1.-THE health boards inspector reports that in
January last he inspected 2,371 head of cattle.
hogs and sheep, and out of that number
demned fourteen head, OF GIG pounds. Is that
a fair proportiona" was asked leading butcher
yesterday.
NO. not by any means. The inspector either
did not do his duty. or the damaged stock was
hurried away The proportion is very small.
The fact is, no one can tell where the crippled
beeves. hogs and sheep 60 after they are sent to
the hospital"
1t is the t. stimony of another butcher that he
had seen hogs badly crippled that they could
herdly walk. The statement comes from
other that he knows of hogs being skinned before
they were dead. and the flesh within few hours
''but they cut off the fat and other portions by
whick the meats inferiority could be readily de-
tected. You can judge from this whether the IN
spector sees all the cattle, hogs and sheep that
ought to be condemned"
If the butcher who said the proportion of CON
demned stock is too small, Is right, what INFER
ence but that great deal of it is slaughtered
be drawn from the inspectors report for Febru-
airy? During that month he inspected 4, 433 head
of cattle, hogs and sheep, and out of the lot
demned only ten hogs and five sheep. in all 2,280
pounds. In March the inspections reached 1878
head, and only $50 pounds were condemned. The
April report did show a much better proportion.
In that month ,317 head were inspected and out
of that lot one bullock, three calves and seven
sheep we're condemned. During May the in
spections numbered 1926, and the condemna-
tons only 275 pounds. In each report much of
the meat was condemned after it got to the mar
ket
Last August committee of the Council spent
considerable time in investigating this question.
The testimony pointed directly to the sale of bad
meats on the market and from that the commit
tee in it's report to the Council said: The said
Board of Health has not enforced as vigorously
should have been done the ordinances and the
statutes respecting bad and unwholesome meat"
But since then the Council has made effort
to perfect system by which the dealing in such
stuff could be prevented. One inspect
or is expected to do the whole
work of watching the stockyards abattoir
and markets together, with four outside slaugh-
ter-houses. How well he does it is able to
do this work may be seen fr IN the visits he him
self reports to the Board of Health. In January
he made ninety three visits, and of that num-
Der fifteen credited to the abattor and nine
to the stockvards. During February his visits
to places where his duty led him were 126. but
he went to the stockyards only twelve times and
to the abattoir twenty times. OF the 178 visits
he made in March, fourteen were to the stock
yards and twenty five to the abattoir. In April
he went 157 times to the places in his
list, but only nine times to the srockyards and
sixteen to the abattor. His May visits were la,
of which thirteen were made each to the abattoir
and yards Upon this one man and his few visits
to the places required depends the chance of the
loo. 600 people in Indianapolis getting altogether
good and wholesome meats. Not long ago he
came upon a slaughterer unexpectedly and found
in his house the carcass of beef that had just
been killed. 1t was bad meat few days
afterwards the inspector went to the same place
and the butcher him coming. He ran into
the house and before the officer could reach it
removed another diseased carcass out of the way
He greeted the officer with II was too much for
you that time"